Actively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser using an electro-optic periodically poled lithium niobate crystal as a laser Q-switch

Abstract

We demonstrate a low-voltage and fast laser $Q$-switching by using an electro-optic periodically poled lithium niobate (EO PPLN) crystal. The half-wave voltage measured from the EO PPLN crystal was $0.36 \mathrm{V}\times d \left(\mathit{\mu }\mathrm{m}\right)/L \left(\mathrm{cm}\right)$, where $d$ is the electrode separation and $L$ is the electrode length. When a 13-mm-long EO PPLN was used as a laser $Q$ switch at 7-kHz switching rate, we measured an $\sim 12‐\mathrm{ns}$ pulse width and $\sim 0.74‐\mathrm{kW}$ laser pulses at 1064-nm wavelength from a diode-pumped $\mathrm{Nd}:{\mathrm{YVO}}_4$ laser with continuous 1.2-W pump power at 809-nm wavelength.

© 2003 Optical Society of America